SHANKARA’S PHILOSOPHY .. ..

Shankara told that the Soul is the absolute God and the world is imaginary and unreal. But, neither the soul is God nor the world is imaginary and unreal. God is omnipotent and is the Creator of this real world. God is the unique controller of this real world. Finally, this real world dissolves in God and disappears. None of these points is applicable to the soul. The soul has limited power and cannot create even an atom of this real world. The soul is unable to control even any system of its body like heart, kidney etc. Even an atom of the real world does not dissolve and disappear in the soul. Therefore, God and soul are totally different. Soul is the part and parcel of this real world, which was created by God. But, the soul can stand as the best simile for God. The imaginary world created by the soul can also be the best simile of this real world. Soul is the basic inert energy, which is eternal in the sense that it is the ultimate cause of the imaginary world. Similarly, the cosmic energy is eternal in the sense that it is the ultimate cause of the real world.

We can call the soul as eternal in the sense that it is left over even after the dissolution of the entire imaginary world. Similarly, God is eternal since He is left over after the dissolution and disappearance of this real world. God is absolutely eternal and the soul is relatively eternal. In the beginning of the Gita, Lord Krishna said that the soul is eternal (Ajo nityah…). But, the Lord said that the soul is eternal with respect to the destroyable body (Hanyamaane Shareere…). The soul stands for the inert cosmic energy and the body stands for the real world. The entire real world disappears due to its ultimate dissolution in the cosmic energy. Hence, with respect to the real world, cosmic energy is relatively eternal. Finally, this cosmic energy also dissolves in the absolute unimaginable God. Therefore, neither the soul nor the cosmic energy is absolutely eternal. There is no qualitative difference between the soul and cosmic energy. The difference is only quantitative.

The awareness created by the soul [inert energy form] due to association with nervous system is called as individual soul [awareness form]. The awareness created by God due to His omnipotence is called as ‘Eeshwara’. The first awareness in God does not require the assistance of nervous system due to absence of matter and energy before the creation of this world. The individual soul creates, controls and dissolves the imaginary world. Similarly, Eeshwara is the creator, controller and destroyer of this real world. The individual soul is the direct cause of the imaginary world and the soul is indirect cause, which is not disturbed by the effects of the imaginary world. Similarly, the absolute God (Parabrahman) is not at all disturbed by the effects of this creation. Since Eeshwara is similar to the individual soul, you may doubt that Eeshwara is disturbed by the creation. Eeshwara should be compared to the individual soul of a realized human being in which the realized individual soul is also not disturbed by the imaginary world. The realized individual soul enjoys this imaginary world without any disturbance and ultimately the soul enjoys. Similarly, Eeshwara enjoys this real world and ultimately Parabrahman enjoys. The inert nature of the soul should be treated as the limitation of the simile. The unimaginable nature of the absolute God (Parabrahman) cannot have another unimaginable item for simile since two unimaginable items can never exist. Due to this problem, you have to always take the required convenient points of comparison only in view of the limitations of the worldly items taken for comparison to God. The Brahma Sutras have clearly explained this point.

The soul creating the imaginary world stands as a good simile to God creating this real world even in the process of creation. There is a dispute between two schools: one supports the real modification (Parinama) and the other supports apparent modification (Vivarta). Both are correct simultaneously due to the difference in the references. With reference to the difference of the effect from the cause, it is real modification. With reference to the ultimate cause, it is only apparent modification. When the milk is turned to curd, the modification is real. But, milk and curd are different phases of the same matter. If you take the concept that matter is ultimate form of energy, both milk and curd are energy only. Hence, with reference to Parabrahman, the real world is apparent modification only. With reference to Eeshwara, this real world is real modification. Similarly, with reference to the realized individual soul, the imaginary world is real modification. With reference to the soul, the imaginary world is apparent modification. Shankara always referred Parabrahman as God and hence, believed in the apparent modification. Ramanuja always referred Eeshwara as God and hence, believed in real modification.

All this analysis concludes in the final fact that neither soul is God, nor the individual soul is Eeshwara and nor the imaginary world is the real world. Shankara always stressed on soul and imaginary world. His mode of explanation was always based on metaphor (Roopaka) and not on simile (Upama). Simile says that the face is like Moon. Metaphor says that the face is Moon. Metaphor does not mean that really face is Moon. Metaphor should be ultimately taken as simile only. The language of a great scholar always follows in the line of figure of speech (Alankara). People are misled in this mode of the speech of Shankara, the greatest Scholar. Of course, such mode of speech was the need of the hour. When Shankara appeared in this world, this country was full of atheists, who can be satisfied with such misunderstood Metaphor only. If you say that God is like the soul, two items (God and soul) have to exist. If you say God is soul, only one item (soul) exists in case such expression is not taken as Metaphor. Ignorant atheists could not take it as Metaphor and believed it as the truth. The theists, who are scholars, took this expression as Metaphor which has the ultimate sense of simile. Hence, the ignorant atheists have taken soul as God and the scholarly theists have taken the sense that soul is the best simile for God. The ignorant atheists always believed in the existence of soul and not in the existence of God. Unless you say that soul is God, they will not believe in the existence of the separate God and the introduction of God fails in the beginning itself. If you say that soul is God, they will at least believe in the existence of God indirectly since God is only an alternative name for the soul. Shankara made the atheists to become theists indirectly and there was no other way than this trick.

This concept of Shankara has lot of practical utility. Actually, the imaginary world is the sole cause for all the practical problems in the real world (Samkalpa prabhavaan kamaan… Gita). For example, you have seen a beautiful lady in this real world. Later on, you go on imagining about that lady again and again. Such imagination provokes you to approach that real lady in this real world, which leads to all types of problems and lack of peace. Therefore, the imaginary world is responsible for the problems of the real world. Another example, you see the luxuries in the real world. You go on imagining about these luxuries in your imaginary world. This continuous imaginary world provokes you to achieve real luxuries in the real world. Then, you become corrupt and end in several problems in the real world. When Shankara told that this world is imaginary and unreal, He is referring only to your imaginary world and not to this real world. If you realize that your imaginary world is unreal, then, you will stop to create and continue your imaginary world. By this, you are not provoked in the real world and there will be no problems and hence, no tensions. The calm and peaceful mind is energetic, which will be able to concentrate on God. The lifelong peace is obtained. The ignorant people misunderstood this concept by taking this real world as imaginary and unreal. Of course, this real world is imaginary and unreal for God. Therefore, Shankara passed through the bolted doors in the house of Mandana Mishra. If you try in that way, your forehead will swell! Hence, there are two different items: one is you, the soul and the other is Shankara, the God.